Is Your Farm Crime-Proof?

In the experience of Bob King, Ph.D., a liaison with Western New York law enforcement and senior extension educator with the Cornell Cooperative Extension—Monroe County, farmers who have been the victims of crime often know the perpetrator.

“Sadly, most crimes perpetrated against farm operations are by individuals either familiar with or working with someone who is familiar with the farmer and/or the farm operation,” he says. “Historically, such criminals have either been a past employee, visitor, customer, farmer, or a member of the local community.”

The general public may take comfort in learning that most crimes against farms aren’t conducted by international terrorist cells focused on unleashing wide-scale human suffering. But the farmer is still compromised regardless of the motivation behind the act. The good news—these criminal acts can be deterred.

More good news: it’s not necessary to lock and alarm the whole farm, according to King.

“Lock and alarm rooms and doors that provide access to key areas such as chemical and fertilizer storage, milk house, animals, or a refrigerator where you store pharmaceuticals, and perhaps your repair shop. We also recommend that you keep items of interest out of sight as much as possible to avoid communicating to potential thieves that you have something they want.

“Keep an eye on things. Encourage employees, family, friends and neighbors to report any unusual or suspicious activity on or nearby the farm. Motion lighting helps alert you and others to monitor for an unusual or suspicious activity that may be occurring. Pay attention to your surround-ings—when you get up at night to use the bathroom, look outside the window.

“Some crimes, especially vandalism on the farm, tend to involve employees, especially past employees. Ideally, do a background check before you hire, and keep track of a past employee by getting an address and phone number,” says King.

Risk Management Needn’t Break the Bank

Safeguarding a farm against crime needn’t break the bank, or turn into a job in and of itself, encourages King. He points out that by using locks, lights and alarms at vulnerable access points, farmers can reduce the likelihood of theft and regain a sense of control for only a few hundred dollars, and may reduce their insurance premiums, too. Proof positive: according to King, the use of a motion alarm at a livestock operation in Western New York led to the arrest of an individual who ultimately pled guilty to stealing calves, mentioned above, from three farms.

King suggests that when new buildings go up or other physical changes occur on a farm, it’s the perfect time to tap into the risk management consultations offered by local law enforcement agencies.

“Besides helping law enforcement gain familiarity with your farm, often within an hour, a law enforcement professional can help you assess your vulnerabilities and give you a ‘short list’ of things to strengthen physical security, which is likely to reflect criminal activity concerns within their jurisdiction. Also, many law enforcement agencies will provide a representative for group meetings to highlight and recap common physical security concerns and how to address them.”

Finally, King urges farmers to never be hesitant to report suspicious activity.

“Owners of all farms, especially large, 24-hour operations, should tell employees not to be afraid to report suspicious activity to law enforcement. Sometimes farmers have the attitude of ‘no unwanted attention,’ but that should not be the case anymore. Law enforcement is always willing to come and assess a farm’s security issues, and as always, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

And, it’s always better to have one less thing keeping you up at night.